Don't discriminate, martyr's kin tells Nitish

The family members of slain CRPF jawan Mujahid Khan have refused to accept the compensation of a nominal amount of Rs 5 lakh  offered by the Nitish government.

Khan, who was martyred while fighting Pakistan-backed terrorists in  Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, was laid to rest on Wednesday at his ancestral  home at Piro in Bihar's Bhojpur district.

While thousands gathered to pay last respects to the martyr, no minister from the Nitish Cabinet attended the funeral, although the location was only 65 km from the state capital.

A  district administration official  offered the cheque of Rs 5 lakh to the slain jawan's brother Imtiyaz.

Imtiyaz refused to accept the cheque, reportedly saying,  "Don't discriminate with us. My 25-year-old brother did not die in a hooch tragedy. He lost his life fighting militants in Jammu  and Kashmir."

Imtiyaz said the state government should offer a substantial sum so that the elderly parents of the martyred jawan  can live a comfortable life.

"I have been informed that in earlier instances, the martyrs' family members were handed over a cheque of Rs 11 lakh. Why such discrimination with us then?"  Imtiyaz told the officials.

The Nitish regime had paid Rs 11 lakh to Sangeeta, the widow of slain soldier Ashok Kumar Singh, in 2016. Ashok was killed when terrorists attacked the army camp at Uri in  Jammu and Kashmir two years ago.

On Monday, shortly before he was killed, Mujahid had spoken to his mother  Hasina Khatoon.

"We were planning Mujahid's marriage. But destiny had something else in store for us," said his 70-year-old father Abdul Khair Khan.

Mujahid had joined the CRPF in 2011 and was trained at  Kerala's Palipuram training centre.